So Cold Without You
by Nemi-Dina
Summary: Jeremy Gilbert is not dead... or just isn't anymore... He's turned into something else, something else entirely...
1. Chapter 1

_This happens right after the prom episode called Pictures of You. And you will like what you read if:_

_- you ship Beremy as well as the Matt/Bonnie friendship._

_- you ship some funny Damon/Bonnie love and hate relationship (on a friendly basis)_

_- you sort of hate Elena (because let's face it, she's useless a lot of the time)_

_- you'd like to read about some Klaus/Caroline romance._

_Of course I don't own any of the characters blablabla... but I do own this piece of fiction. I hope you'll enjoy._

* * *

"He's dead!"

Elena's words stung the way open wounds did. They clouded Bonnie's hopes as they kept ringing over and over in her mind.

"He's been dead this entire time." Elena had choked out and put a hand over her mouth.

She was right, wasn't she? Bonnie wondered. Jeremy couldn't possibly be gone but... She had seen him... She had seen him lying cold and silent in his bed with a pale white face and deadly features. How could he be dead when she promised she would protect him? Their roles had been reversed and so he had been the protector. He had saved her from the hunter, he had fought for her. And all she did in return was watch him die. Watch him die? She wondered.

"Hey, Bonnie, wake up! Table six is still waiting so get your ass up there real quick!"

Bonnie lifted her head with a start. For a moment, she wasn't even sure where she was. Then she caught sight of a desperate Caroline holding a plastic basin full of dirty dishes under one arm and a large bottle of wine in her hand.

"For God's sake, Bonnie! Are you on crack?!" Caroline exclaimed and the bottle of wine slipped out of her hand.

The sound of glass shattering brought Bonnie back to reality. Shaking any thoughts of Jeremy out of her head, she rushed to Caroline's help.

"Why did you drop it?" Bonnie asked. "I was listening, you didn't have to make such a scene."

"I wasn't trying to make a scene, the stupid thing slipped and I would have lost the basin if I'd tried to catch it..." Caroline complained. "Besides," she added in a whisper, "I couldn't possibly catch it in speed motion seeing the amount of people in here and last thing I want is for everyone to realize what I really am."

Bonnie nodded and took the basin from Caroline.

"I'll clean the mess, you take care of the rest of the orders." Caroline offered with a sigh. "We can't fall behind because this has to be perfect... for - for Jer - you know..." Caroline rambled the way she usually did when she had to manage special events.

Bonnie nodded again and faked a smile. As she walked towards the kitchen, she took another look at the interior of the bar and inhaled deeply. The place was much darker than usual and certainly quieter, yet it had never been so crowded before.

It was Jeremy's memorial after all, Bonnie had to remind herself when she put the basin near the sink.

As she was about to leave the kitchen a shadow cast over her and within the blink of an eye, a black denim shirt was facing her. She sighed, knowing who it was already.

"What do you want Damon?" Bonnie asked in exasperation.

"You've been no fun lately..." Damon said playfully.

"Jeremy's dead, Damon." Bonnie said in a flat voice.

"Technically... yeah..." Damon said in an unusual deep voice.

"Last thing you want to do is make fun of Jeremy on his..."

"Now, now, little Bonnie, you really don't have to get angry." Damon sneered.

"Leave me alone!" Bonnie said threateningly.

"Wait." Damon called as she walked past him. "I don't believe that he is dead either... I can't."

Bonnie stopped dead in her tracks.

"Do you know how long it took for me to finally accept the fact that he is dead?" Bonnie asked coldly.

"Hopefully... never?" Damon said with a nervous laugh.

"That's it!" Bonnie yelled and grabbed Damon by the collar of his shirt.

She pinned him against the wall and used her expression to block each of his arms and legs. Damon tried to speak but Bonnie's strong spell wouldn't let him. With horror, he realized that he had no control over any part of his body, not even his eyes. As Bonnie's intense stare hypnotized him, his teeth sunk into his bottom lip and he moaned silently through the pain.

The way Bonnie saw it, the fury, the guilt and the sorrow materialized in the despicable and abhorrent vampire that was Damon. And maybe, possibly, if she killed him... well then, the pain would go away.

"Bonnie!"

Bonnie snapped out of her fury when she heard Elena's shaky voice.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked in confusion.

Bonnie turned her head back to face Damon and sighed.

"I may have lost control for a split second." Bonnie admitted nonchalantly.

Damon coughed frantically after the teenage witch let go of his throat.

"You did'nt just lose a little control, you went banana on me, you crazy bitch - I mean witch!"

"No you said bitch." Bonnie said.

Damion shouted in pain and sunk to the floor as Bonnie watched him intently.

"Bonnie, stop it! What's wrong with you?!" Elena yelled out as she crouched down next to Damon.

"What's wrong with me? Why don't you ask him?" Bonnie said defensively and walked out.

Her head hurt, her legs heat up and she felt her muscles contract as she cracked her knuckles. She walked frantically. She had no idea where she was going and little did it matter. As long as she kept away from Damon - or any other source of anger - she would be fine.

When the anger passed, Bonnie got back to her senses only to realize that her legs had carried her to Mystic Falls' graveyard, and more specifically to where Jeremy Gilbert had supposedly been buried. Almost everything about Jeremy seemed only a supposition to her. It didn't look real. His death couldn't be real - No - she wouldn't believe that the bones found in the Gilberts' burnt house were his. She wouldn't believe that he was gone forever. With a painful sigh, she knelt down close to his grave. The rock was nicely modeled but the words that Elena had chosen to be carved in wouldn't register in Bonnie's mind.

"Brother and Friend." Bonnie read and laughed bitterly.

What about friend and soul mate? She thought with a sad smile.

"You were supposed to come back with us." Her shaky voice whispered as exhaustion took over her body and mind.

"I'm tired Jeremy - I'm so tired of fighting all this... I think I'm finally believing them too, but there's something in me that won't let go."

Salty tears drifted down to Bonnie's upper lip. Desperately, she bit that lip and failed to push back her silent cry.

"I should have never let you go. I should have never broken up with you, Jeremy."

Bonnie wasn't just crying anymore, she was mourning and she knew she had finally reached that awful and unavoidable breaking point. Her shoulders slumped and her body shook as her hands ripped off small bunches of grass. She knew she was facing what she hoped she could delay for ever. She was falling in a spiral of sorrow. Her heart pounded and her hands started to sweat. It felt as if someone had punched her so hard that their hand had made a hole through her chest. She couldn't breath. She coughed and cried and had to blow her nose, so in the end she felt all the more pathetic.

With a weak and shaky hand, she caressed the top of Jeremy's grave and slowly rose to her feet. Full of remorse, she turned on her heels and walked away from his grave, hoping that getting far away from whatever was left of him would heal her heavy chest.

She was beginning to hope she would finally feel a bit better when she tripped on a rock and fell.

"Stupid graveyard! Stupid caretaker!" She yelled in frustration and sat up.

The wind rose and sent dust into her eyes, blinding her for a few seconds. A bunch of crows flew away noisily and a peculiar fog covered the cut grass and the surrounding graves. At that moment, Bonnie knew that something was not quite right. She dreaded some mysterious trap or trick and feared she would be too weak to defend herself against any kind of supernatural creature. In fact, they would do her a favor if only they killed her; then she wouldn't have to deal with the whole sorrowful and remorseful mourning package. She wouldn't have to feel miserable anymore.

"Bonnie. Bonnie, stand up!"

With a start, she jumped up and turned around. She wasn't sure she'd heard right. Perhaps, Silas was trying to get to her again.

"Bonnie."

This time she saw him. He was standing less than three feet away from her. Dressed in a black jacket and in black jeans, he looked different. He even looked too different to be Silas and that fair and spotless face of his seemed too beautiful to be real. It wasn't like that night in the woods, for prom, it was better. His smooth skin looked a little more tan than usual and strangely enough it glowed. He looked as if he'd just come back from some vacation to a beach resort.

"Oh God. I'm losing it. I am so losing it, and you must be so happy. That's what you've been aiming for right from the start!" Bonnie cried out.

Only Silas could foul her like that, no doubt about that. That vision was simply too beautiful to be true.

"Bonnie, listen to me. You need to trust me on this one. We don't have time to talk. Just walk away and don't ever stay by yourself, that's what makes you vulnerable. Then he can be whomever he wants."

Obviously, she was going mad, for even the Silas theory didn't make sense anymore.

"Bonnie. Go!"

Stubbornly, Bonnie remained still, daring the boy that looked like Jeremy.

"What's going to happen if I don't? Whoever you are or whatever you are - you're not scaring me!" Bonnie said with a sad smirk.

"I guess you don't leave me much of a choice." Jeremy whispered confidently.

Bonnie held her breath for a second, trying to second-guess Jeremy's next move. Unfortunately, even she - the expression witch - failed to understand what was happening. Within the blink of an eye, she felt strong arms wrap around her waist, pulling her close to his chest. And then she wasn't in Mystic Falls' graveyard anymore. She was right behind the Grill near the garbage cans, standing alone in the empty backstreet.

"What the hell just freaking happened?" She wondered aloud.

"Always have more than two people by your side." Jeremy's voice warned.

Bonnie felt a shiver run down her spine as she turned around to face him.

"Where did you come from? What's happening? Who are you?" Bonnie exclaimed and stepped away in fear and bewilderment.

"I am Jeremy. It's me, Bonnie. You'll just have to trust that I'm not dead... and that I'm something else entirely now." Jeremy explained in a calm tone.

Bonnie opened her mouth to speak but the man of her dreams vanished before she could utter a sound.

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Please, review? :)


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thank you guys for the support. I loved reading your reviews.**_

* * *

Damon Salvatore crouched down as he held his stomach. In hundreds of years of living he had never been in such a state. It was one of those moments in life when laughter overwhelms you to the point of hysteria. In other words, bringing him out of his misery and dull life, the ridiculous Bonnie Bennet was making him choke in endless gales of laughter.

"I'm serious, you asshole! I know what I saw!" Bonnie cried out desperately.

"Oh!" Damon sighed with contentment as his breathing returned to normal. "That was just too funny." He said and laughed again.

"Will you just listen? You're the only one willing to believe that he's not dead." Bonnie said with irritation dripping from every word she uttered.

"I was listening otherwise I wouldn't be laughing that much. So what was it again?" Damon said playfully and tilted his head a little as he faked a serious face. "Oh yeah!" He exclaimed with a grin that caused Bonnie's stomach to churn, "you saw Jeremy Gilbert in the graveyard with a face so beautiful – you thought he was wearing foundation, right?"

Just when she thought he was getting serious... Bonnie sighed in exasperation and flopped in one of the Salvatores' large leather couches, pulling a face as she watched Damon's repulsive body convulse through all the laughing.

_Damon the fame-whore will never change_, she thought, feeling disgusted.

* * *

Matt Donovan breathed in the fresh night air as he stepped away from the Grill. Friday night shifts were the hardest. He was always the last one gone, the one closing the whole place before midnight, the one cleaning up everything after the busiest hours, and he was sick of it. _Being human sucks_, he thought as he kicked a little stone out of his way. The gesture caused him to pay better attention to his decaying shoes and as his eyes traveled up his knee, he realized that one of the holes in his beat-up jeans looked worse under the streetlights. Soon, he would probably have to throw away the piece of garment and he wasn't sure if he could afford new good quality jeans.

Smiling sadly at the bright full moon, he felt his heart ache as he thought of the bills he was to receive the morning after. If only he had some relative by his side, someone better than his mother or sorry excuse of a dead sister, then together, they would make ends meet when the month ends. But that was just a fantasy. A simple and decent dream which seemed pathetic in comparison with all the strange things that happened in Mystic Falls. So with strong resentment, the young man shook the wistful thoughts out of his head and climbed nonchalantly in his cheap pick-up truck.

"Life is unfair. Life's so unfair." Matt whispered to himself as he turned the key in the ignition.

The old engine roared but the noise was unfamiliar.

"Oh, no please baby, don't give up on me!" Matt pleaded as he hugged the stirring wheel.

Depending on the situation, Matt either felt like bombing his old car or else just making love to it. This time he was too tired to be angry at it, so he kept pleading as he tried to start it over and over again.

* * *

Bonnie gave up on having a normal conversation with the stupidest Salvatore on earth. Instead, she simply resorted to torturing him. She came to the conclusion that some people weren't meant to have meaningful conversations, in fact, people like Damon were meant to be hurt; and those very specific sort of people had been given a very specific name: _assholes_. Of course, they deserved that eloquent label as much as they did the pain.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Stefan Salvatore asked as he entered his large living-room.

Before him stood a stoical Bonnie and an agonizing Damon.

"Oh nothing special. Damon and I were just having a normal conversation." Bonnie said with a smile.

"Bitch is killing me!" Damon cried like a toddler and kept swinging like a madman in an asylum. "Sh-sh-she has co-co-co-control over my whole be-be-be-being and right now – she – she's drowning me in humiliation." He stuttered and sent Stefan a pleading look.

Stefan watched in amazement as Damon whined childishly.

"Well that's some nice trick you've got there, Bonnie. I think I'm linking this." Stefan said with a chuckle.

"Ssss – son of a b-b-bitch!" Damon cried out.

Stefan shrugged in response to the insult and enjoyed the ridiculous sight of Damon weeping. After all, that brother of his had stolen Elena away from him so perhaps this funny situation would finally make them even.

"Did you compel him? Can you actually compel him?" Stefan asked in fascination as he watched Bonnie's serene face.

"No, I don't need to. First I only had control over his arms and legs but now I also have control over his behavior. I guess expression evolves much faster than I thought and quite frankly... I _love_ the feeling." Bonnie said with satisfaction glowing in her eyes.

"Though I do not have such power, I sure love the feeling too..." Stefan said with a smirk. "Let's enjoy the whole thing for a few more minutes, shall we?" He added as he lied down on the couch opposite Damon, patting the empty space beside him for Bonnie to sit down.

* * *

Matt eventually had to abandon his car to start the exhausting trek to his house. Life _could_ get worse, he thought bitterly as he adjusted the strap of his sport-bag over his shoulder. How he managed to commit himself to studies, sport and the Grill was a wonder, he realized with sad dignity. Thinking of school and football drove him to look back on the old good times, to when he was still in middle school, spending most of his time with Bonnie and Jeremy, his closest friends. Back then, the world was a simple and happy place, one in which there were no bills, no evil beings, and none of society's pressure to be perfect.

Thinking of Jeremy and Bonnie somehow made the walk back home seem less distressing than expected... or so he thought; for as he neared his house, he noticed in the far horizon, a familiar figure standing against the bright moon. His human weakness and apprehension propelled the young Donovan, forcing him to find more energy in his tired legs. He walked faster, hoping he would reach his house soon enough to avoid the shady figure walking in the distance. For even though the dark figure looked somehow familiar, the scenery, the night mist and the disconcerting little noises coming from the near trees and the moon lighted verdant spaces, suffocated him. Every part of his being – Matt realized – were telling him to run to the safety of his dwelling.

* * *

Damon Salvatore winced as he felt the nerve-racking and crushing weight lift off of his body, literally, Bonnie was finally releasing him of his misery.

"Well, it was high time!" Damon said with relief. "For a moment there I thought you'd keep torturing me forever."

"No one cares about what you think, we only care about whatever information you have to offer." Bonnie said mischievously and Stefan nodded with a smirk to show his agreement.

"Oh, please, don't go all 'Mulder and Scully' on me. I'm a vampire not a fucking extra-terrestrial being!" Damon complained as he stretched his aching body.

"So? You said you didn't believe in Jeremy's death...?" Stefan resumed.

"Yeah. I happened to run into Katherine and Elijah the other day. Idiots thought of nothing better than a trek in the woods for romance's sake at like four in the morning. I bumped into them, they were kissing like the motherfucking bloodsuckers that they are and then – well then it turns out my dinner had already made its escape! Because of those two little so – " Damon rambled vehemently.

"To the point, Damon! We don't have time for your stupid gossip!" Bonnie exclaimed and Damon's head ached as if a giant butcher had hit his skull with a giant axe.

"Gahhhhh – if you stopped hurting me then maybe I'd be able to provide better information!" Damon yelled as he held his head.

"What do you know about Jeremy?" Bonnie asked exasperatedly.

"Katherine knows what's happened to him." Damon said calmly as he felt the pain subside.

"What exactly happened to him?" Stefan asked.

"He didn't just die... Since Elena burnt him down, he turned into another kind of being." Damon explained.

"What kind of being?!" Bonnie and Stefan cried out at the same time.

Damon smirked as his brother and the witch bent a little forward, eager to hear what he had to say next.

"Well there are these legends about demons and djins... Have you ever heard of them?" Damon said in all seriousness.

"Demons and what?" Bonnie wondered.

"Djins." Stefan repeated. "They're demons reported in Arabian stories and legends." He explained and nodded for Damon to continue his speech.

"The legend says that they are made of a smokeless fire, that they have the strength of ten men, the speed of light and the ability to spark fire. Unfortunately, they were doomed to live on the other side for ever, they were banished from earth. They were left to live separate from the human world, separate from love and emotion, isolated from even the rest of the supernatural world... But the legend says that witches and gold traders eventually found a way to the other side, to contact the Djins, so as to help them perform the darkest spells and to find the most deeply buried gold. So those guys needed more power and they found it in the union of Djins and humans. Ever since then, witches have tried to create some kind of half human and half Djin being, but they have always failed... The end."

Bonnie frowned and blinked multiple times as she took in Damon's well-thought-out words meanwhile Stefan rolled his eyes, annoyed by his brother's dramatization of the story.

"And well when I ran into Katherine, she said she had compelled Elena to burn the house down with Jeremy in it... So that Jeremy's transformation could be performed." Damon explained carefully.

"Why would she do that?" Bonnie asked angrily.

"She must be dealing with someone stronger... and more important than any one of us – Klaus included, well especially Klaus." Stefan replied.

"You think she wants to use Jeremy to kill Klaus?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know. First we'll have to figure out if Jeremy really is a Djin or if he simply is actually dead." Stefan advised.

"Until now, I never really knew what to do with this little piece of information Katherine gave me. I mean she is a compulsive liar, you guys know that right?" Damon stated in his usual playful tone.

"That waste of being is going to talk and I'll make sure she says the truth. You just leave her to me." Bonnie said vehemently as she felt anger take control of every part of her being.

"So I guess we're heading towards wherever Katherine is, right?" Stefan asked as he followed Bonnie out the front door.

"You guessed right." Bonnie said confidently.

"Well, where is that bitch?" Damon called as he strutted after his brother and his not-so-favorite witch.

Stefan and Bonnie simply ignored him as they climbed into his old mustang.

"We'll have to pass by Matt's house first. He just sent me an 'S.O.S' text." Bonnie said worriedly as she checked her texts on her phone.

"Yeah whatever...I mean I'm not the one driving..." Damon said nonchalantly as he got to the backseat of the car.

"What do you think is up with Matt?" Stefan asked Bonnie as he ignored his brother's comments.

"I don't know." Bonnie said and shrugged.

"_My_ car, _my_ help, _my_ genius thinking and this is how you thank _me_? You could have at least let me sit in the front seat, you bastards!" Damon complained but the roar of the engine made it easier for Bonnie and Stefan to ignore his annoying voice.

* * *

Hurriedly, Matt unlocked the front door open and stepped in. Sighing a sigh of relief, he turned around to close the front door nonchalantly when something blocked his movement. Looking down at the mat, Matt was surprised to see high heeled black leather boots.

"Hey, Matt, can I come in please?" The pretty blond asked sympathetically.

"Caroline? What are you doing here?" Matt asked in confusion.

Ever since he'd broken up with her, Caroline never came to his place and certainly not at such late hours.

"I'm in trouble." Caroline said in a dramatic tone.

Matt was about to invite her in when he realized the peculiar spark in her eyes. His mouth opened but he was not able to utter a single word.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Caroline asked curiously.

"I'm sure your problems can wait 'till tomorrow, Caroline." Matt said tiredly and let out a yawn.

"No they can't." Caroline said in a harsh tone.

Matt stepped away from the threshold, ready to slam the door shut.

"Look Caroline – or whoever you are. I'm tired, and last time I checked, I was of no value whatsoever to any of you supernatural people, so please leave me alone." Matt said defensively and slammed the front door shut.

He had just figured out two little important things: either Caroline was compelled to come harm him or else Silas was teasing through Caroline's appearance.

"Yeah you're right. I am Silas. I guess you needn't question yourself anymore, Matty."

Matt jumped up, startled by the soft and yet venomous tone. A devilishly playful Vicky was now facing him, playing with a lock of her hair.

"Stay away from me! What the hell do you even want from me?" Matt exclaimed.

"Well, for Bonnie to be willing to drop the veil to the other side and unleash hell on earth, I am going to need her to be very much convinced that she wins something by doing so." Silas said licentiously in Vicky's most gentle voice.

Matt gulped as he stepped backwards, having nowhere to run for he knew Silas was in his head. And so the teenager wondered if perhaps harming himself would cause the vision of Silas to fade away.

"Oh no need to do that, Matty." The false vision of Vicky said in fake compassion. "Because, I'm just going to go ahead and kill you... kill you with your mind."

Matt choked as he felt something sharp hit him in the chest, near his heart.

"Feel the bittersweet pain, Matty." The girl that Matt knew not to be his sister, said sadistically. "And thankfully, when you're dead, Bonnie will be beyond devastated knowing another close friend died. She will be very weak and she'll have one more reason to drop the veil... She'll miss you, she'll want you back."

Matt felt the air close in on him as if he were drowning in oxygen-less space, and as his eyelids grew heavier, he still had time to notice the red liquid dripping profusely down his stomach. Despite his will to stay strong, his legs gave in, letting him fall to the parqueted floor; and as the room grew darker and darker, the only thing he could last perceive was the sorry vision of a stern Vicky.

"It's O.K, Matty. You won't feel much pain." Her bewitching voice lulled him into giving up on life.

As Silas raised his arm to stab the boy again, appearing as a fierce Vicky, Matt closed his eyes, praying that he wouldn't be stuck on the other side when he dies. But the strike that Matt expected never came. Instead, a warm and strong hand lied on his wounded chest. When Matt opened his eyes, the bewildering face of a healthy Jeremy Gilbert grinned at him.

"You're going to be all right, buddy." The reassuring and familiar voice of Jeremy whispered.

Despite all his efforts, Matt failed to speak as the room grew pitch-black.

* * *

_**I hope I can update soon, but I can't make any promises. I have like a thousands assignments for college, so yeah... I hope you guys enjoyed this. But I can promise that next chapter will have more Bonnie and Jeremy moments, so please hang in there! :)**_

_**Oh and Please, review again, please? Tell me what you think of this chapter.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_This chapter features Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' _****_Home_********_song. I hope you'll enjoy this, I worked a lot on it._**

* * *

Bonnie jumped out of Damon's Mustang hurriedly when Stefan parked the car in front of the Donovans' house. As she caught sight of the lights in the kitchen, she ran to the front porch and knocked frenetically on the door. She called for Matt, hoping to get an answer, and tapped her foot anxiously on the floor as she waited. After hopping out of the vehicle nonchalantly, Damon proceeded to close the car door gently only to have his hand pushed in the slit by another, stronger and slender hand. Stefan smiled as he slammed the door shut, cutting off Damon's fingers in the process. Bonnie turned around briefly to enjoy the delightful sight of the blue eyed vampire crying over his bloody hand.

"_That_ was for rubbing the whole Y_ou-and-Elena-romance_ in my face, brother." Stefan sneered in satisfaction as he followed Bonnie to the Donovans' front porch.

"Perhaps, you should just walk in, you know." He advised.

The teenager slowly put her hand on the knob.

"Hello!?" She called when the door swiftly yielded open,"Matt? Are you home?"

"Bonnie?"

The young witch recognized the weakened voice of her friend and stepped inside. Following the sound of it, she found the blond boy lying lazily in the couch displayed in his living-room.

"Hey. You got me worried. Is everything all right?" Bonnie asked carefully.

"I was feeling down and I missed you, so I texted you. I hoped you could sleep over." Matt said in a haze.

"Hey! When do we get to be invited in?" Bellowed the voices of Damon and Stefan.

"Please, tell them to leave... and stay with me, please?" Matt whispered and pulled a puppy-face.

Bonnie sighed at the thought of Katherine using Jeremy as a tool and killing him to satisfy her desires. Even though the need to know what had exactly happened pulled at her every nerve, the sight of a tired and pleading Matt was hard to resist.

"Please, Bonnie, please?" Matt pleaded and smiled weakly.

"Fine." Bonnie carved in and smiled in return.

With only one weak ray of light coming from the kitchen and barely illuminating a part of his features, Bonnie cast a shade over Matt's face as she stood before him. But when she moved closer and let more of the light hit the rest of his tired face, she thought that she perceived death through his face. A shiver ran down her spine as she strove to put the morbid feeling down to the consequences of her using expression some days before.

"Are you O.K?" She asked and he moved over the couch to let her sit beside him.

"You are never going to believe what – wait, we have to make sure that the Salvatore brothers are gone." Matt said.

Bonnie yelled for the vampire brothers to leave, advising them to put off the whole Katherine issue to the day after.

"What issue?" Matt asked curiously.

"You first," Bonnie said with a nod. "What important thing did you want to tell me?"

"It's about Jeremy." Matt started as he stood up.

"What about him? You said you were over him, remember?" Bonnie mumbled.

Despite her, anger and resentment crushed her heart as her eyes turned a dull green. Matt noticed the grief and listlessness in her tense grimace and bit his lip as he walked to his Hi-fi System. Feelings of remorse and shame hit him as he pushed the "play" button. He had made the mistake of rejecting Bonnie when she came to him first, claiming she had seen Jeremy alive.

"Something's telling me that the Salvatores are listening to us, and I don't want them to hear our conversation." Matt explained as Bonnie watched his every move.

As Matt went through his playlist, looking for a song that would ease Bonnie, a harrowing and heavy silence descended on the quaint living-room.

"You were right." The young Donovan breathed out with a comforting smile. "I should have never given up on you – or on Jeremy." He added as he turned on his heels to face the young witch.

The whistles and soft guitar strums coming from the Hi-fi System lulled Bonnie into a restful serenity, and as the heartwarming sight of a dizzy and changed Matt grinned at her, as his eyes filled with emotion, she knew that he had seen Jeremy too.

_Alabama Arkansas I do love my Ma and Pa  
Not the way that I do love you_

All the pain and bitterness gradually escaped her to be replaced with hopeful bliss. Her lips parted in a childish grin as the lightheartedness took over her tired limbs. Blessedness caused her heart to skip a beat and the full and dazzling bloom of the moment overwhelmed her.

_Man o man you're my best friend  
I scream it to the nothingness  
There ain't nothing that I need_

_Jeremy is real._ Bonnie thought as Matt's hands brushed her shoulders, but Matt's confession was beyond anything she could have imagined.

"_He_'s here, Bonnie. _He's staying here_." Matt said intently.

Bonnie wanted to speak but shock and joy left her speechless. The thought of him being somewhere near her weakened her legs and made her vision blurry. Tears of joy threatened to drop as fluffy and giddy feelings brought dizziness to her mind and body.

_Home, let me come home  
Home is wherever I'm with you_

Matt Donovan gently grabbed his best friend's hand, leading her out the back door.

Outside, the bright moonlight seemed to cast an alluring aura over the whole town and the redolent breeze caused the flimsy trees to sway. Clearing off their forehead and prompting them to squint and blink at the horizon, the crisp night air and the blowing wind ruffled the two teenagers' hair. Feeling comfort spring out of their interlaced hands and out of their sturdy friendship, they walked in the direction of the moon that hung gracefully at the end of the street.

_Home, let me come home  
Home is wherever I'm with you_

Eventually, the figure they so desperately wanted to see, appeared against the brightness of the moon.

"Jeremy." Bonnie whispered in disbelief.

"Go on Bonnie. This is your moment." Matt said sympathetically and walked back towards his house.

As she walked in the direction of the familiar figure, Bonnie could hear her favorite song fade away with each step she took. But ultimately, the chorus remained in her head and the further she went, the clearer the lyrics echoed in her mind.

_La la la la  
Take me home  
Mama I'm coming home_

* * *

"That waste of oxygen is gonna pay for this!" Damon hollered as he entered his and his brother's house.

"The kid was exhausted, he wouldn't have been much help even if he had let us in." Stefan explained as he walked to his bedroom.

"That witch is just as much waste as that stupid blond by the way! I mean what was she thinking?! We could have already figured everything out by now if she hadn't chosen to play gay girl-talk-night with her gay boy friend!"

"Why are you even interested in Jeremy Gilbert, anyways?" Stefan asked skeptically.

"The dead idiot can help Elena feel better if he's not _that_ dead." Damon said and sighed.

"It's always about Elena, isn't it?" Stefan complained and slammed shut the door of his bedroom.

Damon shrugged as he ignored his brother's bad mood. Grabbing his car keys, he decided he would go to the Originals' place by himself. He knew Katherine was there. And as he strutted to his car, he thought that he could always find some way to abduct her so as to, later then, interrogate her under elaborate torture.

* * *

Jeremy Gilbert readjusted his dark denim jacket with one hand and carefully felt the weight of the white-gold ring that was safely tucked in his back pocket. Bonnie Bennet looked ravishing in her white cotton dress, even more so as she strutted in his direction, he realized shortly after their chests collided. Distant soothing sounds echoed in the night and he recognized the lyrics and guitar strums of Bonnie's favorite song as he smelt the enticing aroma of strawberry and cranberry in her curly hair.

_And in the streets you run afree,  
Like it's only you and me,  
Geeze, you're something to see._

Her soft hands gripped at his neck and her nose tickled the crook of his neck. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her closer to him and felt her breast compress against his chest.

"I can't believe this." Bonnie whispered in his neck.

"Perhaps, this will help." Jeremy said smoothly and gently kissed her shoulder.

"Jeremy." Bonnie whispered with a small chuckle.

She wanted to remind him of the fact that they were not a couple, that he had once cheated on her and that her feelings for him were the most unimportant thing at the moment. What mattered was his safety and the disappearance of all the guilt she had felt. What mattered was his _sister_.

_Home, let me come home_

_Home is wherever I'm with you_

"_Elena."_ Bonnie chocked out when Jeremy kissed her jaw.

"Elena can wait." Jeremy said nonchalantly.

Bonnie had to hold her breath as he rested his forehead against hers. The way he spoke made him look _different_. His voice was deeper, his arms stronger and his skin softer. His eyes had changed too. They had turned black, they had grown intense and daring. It was as if the already charming Gilbert had grown into an epic man within a fortnight.

_Laugh until we think we'll die,  
Barefoot on a summer night  
Never could be sweeter than with you_

"Tonight is _our_ night." He whispered against her lips.

And then she felt numb because she was losing her voice, his tongue prevented her from saying anything. His lips against hers tasted like chocolate ice cream on a summer night and his arms were the safe and comforting home that she had been craving ever since his so called death. His enticing and warm summery hands molded her hips, pressed her waist against his, causing her to release a sigh of pleasure.

_Home is when I'm alone with you_

"Let's get inside." Bonnie whispered between two kisses and Jeremy grasped her behind, massaging it gently before applying enough pressure to it to lift her off the ground.

* * *

Matt Donovan ran to the heavy black bag.

"Anything that's in there will protect you better than I will." Jeremy had said after he healed him.

The blond boy still wondered how exactly his friend even managed to cure him of Silas' deadly spell, but the thought of finally uncovering what was contained in the mysterious bag made him forget. Sighing a long and calming sigh, he bent down to zip the dark bag open.

"Holy shit." He whispered as his eyes caught sight of the thin and yet long and heavy blade.

"Whatever supernatural thing attacks you will slip to the other side if this blade even touches it." He remembered Jeremy's composed voice as he slowly and carefully ran a finger over the smooth and flat side of the Japanese saber.

"Oh my God." He whispered again as he examined the rest of the heavy artillery.

Silver guns and golden knives tickled his vision as he stared at the open bag. Strange grenades which seemed to be made of copper and satin-like wires piqued his interest while the myriad of bullets caused his eyes to squint. As the childlike curiosity subsided to let realization hit him, Matt finally figured his friends' intentions. With horror, he realized that the young Gilbert's return was not simply about getting back the life he had been denied.

_Jeremy has come back for war._ Matt thought bitterly and felt panic reach his heavy chest through the rush of his uneven heartbeat.

* * *

Within the blink of an eye, they were in the woods, near the tombstone in which several vampires had been shut away. He had done it again, Bonnie realized. He had used his powers to take her somewhere else.

"Wait..." Bonnie chocked when she realized where they stood. "Why did you bring us here?"

Jeremy sighed as he thought that he had heard confusion and anguish in her voice.

"I'm sorry, that's the first place I thought of and..." He said sheepishly. "Sometimes, I don't control my abilities, so I end up in a place simply because it crossed my mind."

"It's getting better though." He added quickly when he saw the worry in Bonnie's eyes. "I mean, I'm training, and this hasn't happened in a long time... I guess being intimate with you sparked my spontaneity..." He rambled as he hoped the situation wouldn't put an end to their shared moment of intimacy.

"Why?" Bonnie asked. "Why this place?" She added when Jeremy failed to understand her question.

"Well, I guess that this is where it all started." Jeremy explained. "This is where I first realized I had feelings for you. That night when I decided to play stupid and throw myself in there to get the moonstone... well, you got me out and once I was safe and away from Katherine, you held me tight and kept whispering that I would be all right."

Bonnie stared at him with an unfathomable expression on her face. As he watched her features, Jeremy realized with disappointment that he could not guess how she felt. And in the spur of the moment, he grabbed her waist, pulled her closer to him and held her in his arms. A laugh escaped her lips as her feet lifted off the dirty ground.

"Jeremy Gilbert, are you trying to be romantic?" Bonnie asked in a chuckle.

"Nah... Not romantic, just creepy." He said and grinned widely.

Bonnie opened her mouth to say a teasing joke but the strange feeling of fresh wind against her hair stopped her and as Jeremy moved her round and round, she failed to prevent her laughing. Closing her arms around his neck, she giggled again and rested her cheek against his.

Then she opened her eyes and saw it.

It was as far as the eye could reach, stretching over miles and miles, its greenness resembled a silvery blue under the pale moonlight. There it was, the vast forest, slipping fascinatingly under them as they moved gracefully towards the moon. In its resplendent brilliance, the extinguished white star shone over the endless heaps of pine trees and smoothed the dreamy and cozy atmosphere. Taking in a heavenly breath of fresh night air, Bonnie dared looking down at hers and Jeremy's dangling feet. The distant forest gradually moved faster, bewitching and inviting under the moon's spell, so much so that she had no other choice than accept the crazy and mesmerizing reality of the moment. _Jeremy could fly_. Jeremy could fly and make anything fly with him if he pleased.

"Don't look down, Bonnie, you'll feel sick. Look up, look at the moon and the passing stars." The unruffled and warming voice of Jeremy whispered through the night.

Bonnie listened to the dignified maturity in his tone and wondered at his pale complexion as the moonlight tinted his lips with a mystifying purple-blue. Then she remembered his advice and lifted her head up. She fixed her eyes on the sparkling horizon and marveled at the beauty of a moving night sky.

When her heart rate accelerated and her hands gripped tighter at her lover's neck, Bonnie realized in a dreadful and sudden moment of weakness that she was in love with Jeremy Gilbert. And though she felt embarrassed to admit it, she wished the night would never end...

* * *

**_TO BE CONTINUED! hahahaaha! You wanna know whether these two are going to actually sleep together or not, am I right, am I right? lol. I hope this wasn't too gay/romantic for you guys though... I'm a desperate romantic, I just couldn't help the whole giddy flying thing, pardon me for that._**

**_Well, guys, thanks a lot for the support. Your reviews make me want to write hundreds of chapters in a row, just for you! But unfortunately, I can't promise you that. Hopefully, I'll update soon though... Until then my loves, please hang in there, please... 3_**


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